All of the candidates have released medical information to the American people stating they are fit to serve, that is, all except Sarah Palin. There has been a flurry of questions buzzing around the blogosphere and elsewhere regarding the lack of medical records for Palin, especially since her appearance on ABC News almost two weeks ago. When Brian Williams of NBC News asked Palin about the growing requests for these records, she seemed to wave off the concerns. Stating that if “curiosity seekers” wanted to “check off a box”, the records would show that she is healthy and happy, “if they’re released”. Some have suggested that perhaps there is a reason these records haven’t been released are, in fact, being kept under wraps.
It’s been debated that the medical records of presidential and vice-presidential candidates are not necessarily our business. Ron Mwangaguhunga of the Awearness Blog wrote a great piece on this very topic as have others. In the piece, Mwangaguhunga aserts that, “voters should know upfront if a prospective president or vice president has a serious medical issue that may affect his or her ability to govern”. He goes on to site and link to a variety of sources the buttress the argument in favor of released medical records. Other source I found in writing this give statistics. For example, according to Medpage Today, a medical news website, McCains melanoma history suggests McCain has a 22% chance of not surviving his first term if he were elected president.
I trust you have clicked some of these links and are back reading this article which is less information packed and more about what many are postulating about Palin’s records, in other words, gossip. There is a thread running on Democratic Underground discussion forum, which is a great place to find out what the blogosphere is saying. I checked it and here is a list of reasons citizen journalists and others give for Palin’s records being withheld. They guess that maybe:
1) She had a tubal ligation procedure after 4th child
2) She has only given birth to four children
3) She has had an abortion
4) She has had plastic surgery
5) She has had an STD
Any one of the these with the exception of the plastic surgery would hurt her with McCain’s base which is the only reason he brought her on board.
October 22, 2008
November 1, 2008
